Use church land

Reverend Abel Nand (left) meets up with Reverend Josefa Katonibau and Doris and Edward Traill at the Methodist Church Indian Division meeting in Suva on Thursday.
Picture: ELIKI NUKUTABU

DEVELOPING church land in rural areas should influence unemployed youths in the urban centres to return and farm the land.

Methodist Church Indian Division divisional superintendent Reverend Dr Immanuel Reuben said the Methodist Church was the third largest landowner in the country and some of those lands were purchased while others were given as gifts.

"With the establishment of the land registration and development, our hope is that divisions and circuits will run commercial farming in order to generate revenue to the church," Dr Reuben said.

He said getting youths to farm the land would also stop rural youths from drifting to urban areas as agriculture was a promising source of living.

He said a plan to establish a Bible school for the division to train pastors, preachers, stewards, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders and counsellors was also discussed during the meeting.

"From the teaching point of view, a congregation at worship is a difficult class to handle, the pulpit message must be able to reach all the different layers of age groups, cultural backgrounds, world views and experiences of the worshippers."

He said for the division, kava and other substance abuse was not an issue as most of the members limited themselves from consuming such substance and kava was banned from most properties under the division.